Nedbetalingsplanen er praktisk.

Because Norwegian usually writes compound nouns as a single word.

nedbetalingsplanen is made up of:

• nedbetaling = repayment / paying off
• plan = plan
• -en = the definite ending, meaning the

So Norwegian combines them into one noun: nedbetalingsplanen.

This is very common in Norwegian. Where English often uses several words, Norwegian often prefers one compound word.

-en is the definite singular ending for many common-gender nouns in Bokmål. It corresponds to English the.

So:

• en nedbetalingsplan = a repayment plan
• nedbetalingsplanen = the repayment plan

Instead of putting a separate word before the noun, Norwegian often attaches the definite article to the end of the noun.

Because in Norwegian, definiteness is often built into the noun itself.

English uses:

• the plan

Norwegian often uses:

• planen

So in nedbetalingsplanen, the idea of the is already included in the ending -en. That is why you do not need a separate word before it.

That -s- is a linking element used inside compound words. It does not have a separate meaning by itself here.

So:

• nedbetaling
• plan

becomes:

• nedbetalingsplan

This linking -s- is very common in Norwegian compounds. Sometimes it appears, sometimes it does not, and learners often just have to get used to which compounds use it.

The basic form is en plan, so plan is a common-gender noun in Bokmål.

Useful forms:

• en plan = a plan
• planen = the plan
• planer = plans
• planene = the plans

The longer compound follows the same pattern:

• en nedbetalingsplan
• nedbetalingsplanen
• nedbetalingsplaner
• nedbetalingsplanene

Er is the present tense of å være = to be.

So:

• er = is / am / are

Unlike English, Norwegian does not change this verb in the present tense depending on the subject:

• jeg er = I am
• du er = you are
• han er = he is
• vi er = we are

So Nedbetalingsplanen er praktisk uses er simply because it means is here.

Praktisk is the adjective meaning practical.

In this sentence it comes after er, so it is a predicate adjective:

• Planen er praktisk = The plan is practical

That is why you see praktisk on its own, not directly before a noun.

A useful thing to know is that adjectives ending in -isk usually do not add an extra -t in the neuter singular. So praktisk stays praktisk in singular uses like this.

Compare:

• en praktisk plan
• et praktisk system
• planen er praktisk
• systemet er praktisk
• praktiske planer = practical plans

The plural form is praktiske.

Usually very close, yes, but context matters.

In a sentence like this, praktisk often means:

• useful
• workable
• convenient
• sensible in practice

So here it suggests that the repayment plan is easy to use or makes sense in a real-life situation.

It does not usually mean practical in the sense of not theoretical unless the context points that way.

This sentence uses the normal basic word order for a main clause:

• Nedbetalingsplanen = subject
• er = verb
• praktisk = adjective/complement

So the pattern is:

subject + verb + complement

That is very similar to English:

• The repayment plan is practical

More generally, Norwegian main clauses follow the verb-second rule, but in a simple sentence like this, it looks very familiar to an English speaker.

Here are some useful variations:

• En nedbetalingsplan er praktisk. = A repayment plan is practical.
• Nedbetalingsplaner er praktiske. = Repayment plans are practical.
• Nedbetalingsplanene er praktiske. = The repayment plans are practical.

Notice the changes:

• singular indefinite: en nedbetalingsplan
• singular definite: nedbetalingsplanen
• plural indefinite: nedbetalingsplaner
• plural definite: nedbetalingsplanene
• plural adjective: praktiske